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  #961  
Old Posted Feb 27, 2010, 5:39 AM
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Thom Mayne's Emerson College Extension

From CurbedLA
Friday, September 4, 2009, by Neal Broverman


Morphosis

Friday, September 4, 2009, by Neal Broverman


When plans for an extension campus in Hollywood for Boston-based Emerson College were announced, it sounded like an amorphous plan. Well, we knew architect Morphosis, Thom Mayne's architecture firm, was picked to design the campus at Sunset and Gordon. But in a profile on attorney Lewis Feldman, who represents Emerson College, in this week's Los Angeles Business Journal, there's a rendering of the reported $85 million project. What are we looking at? For more details on the 10-story building, which could break ground by the end of next year, we turn to Kim Groves, principal architect at Morphosis.
Where are the dorms? Can the public use that cafe? Groves explains all.>>>

First, more background: The program is designed for Emerson College seniors, who will reside on this Hollywood extension as part of a live/study program that'll see the college students studying at this center, while doing internships with companies in Los Angeles.

The whole lot size is about 37,000 square feet, which isn't quite even a city block, according to Groves. The building will be built over three levels of subterranean parking.

As for the design itself, there are 224 student rooms--not termed dorms, since the word "dorm" implies there are kitchens—which’ll rise along the tower structures on the sides—while the middle area, the glass part, will contain academic facilities. The ground floor could include two retail spots and quite possibly an Emerson Cafe similar to the cafe that's currently on the Boston campus. All of this ground floor retail and the cafe would be open to the public.

Meanwhile, that wrinkled, metallic-looking "fabric" on the interior of the two towers are exterior balcony guard rails. And what kind of material are those rails made of? Given that the final budget isn't finalized, Groves said she couldn’t talk about material choices yet.

But there is a ground-breaking schedule. “We want to start construction in end of 2010, early 2011, “ says Groves.

Anyway, what to think of this latest Hollywood addition? Shades of OMA's CCTV headquarters? Better than the rest of all those planned Hollywood buildings?



Morphosis

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  #962  
Old Posted Feb 27, 2010, 7:52 AM
edluva edluva is offline
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one question - why?

i wish we could get herzog de meuron to do something in la. mayne is good for visual stimulation - that's about all he's good for. has anyone ever listened to this guy talk? pure sophistry and he's not even convincing at it either. i lost total respect for him as an architect when i attended one of his lectures at lacma a couple years back.
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  #963  
Old Posted Feb 28, 2010, 12:23 AM
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As much as I love progressive architecture, I don't like it at all. A weird fusion of Le Grand Arche and just nonsense.
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  #964  
Old Posted Feb 28, 2010, 1:37 AM
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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/ar...ted=1&ref=arts


The Carver apartment buildings. It seems the homeless are better at commissioning good architecture than businesses. And why do I have to rely on the former LA Times architecture critic at the NY Times to keep me informed about what's going on in LA? And Hawthorne is reviewing a convention hotel.

Last edited by ocman; Feb 28, 2010 at 2:05 AM.
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  #965  
Old Posted Feb 28, 2010, 6:53 AM
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I might as well get my fair share of abuse.

Love Emerson; love Carver except for the color. A mellower color strikes me as more comforting and reassuring for homeless people seeking to pull their lives back together.

I wouldn’t want an Emerson on every block, but aside from a couple of older mediocre studios Sunset east of Vine has very little of interest (that I can recall). Considering it’s one of the creative capitals of the world, it could use a stiff jolt of “what could be if you really tried”.

But I admit reasonable people could differ on this.
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  #966  
Old Posted Feb 28, 2010, 6:37 PM
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Why is nothing in this city built to the scale of the surrounding neighborhood? I am not liking that Emerson College expansion rendering at all. At least it has subterranean parking tho.
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  #967  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2010, 6:27 PM
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dk: fair point; one of my favorite complaints, in fact. I sympathize with NIMBY’s when they see an 8 story proposal next to their well-kept sfh neighborhood.

However, I’ll try arguing the opposite on this one. Working from my memory, I believe Sunset already has a scattering of high-rises (studios, offices at Vine) and the area is mixed commercial with light-industrial (film equipment and processing) in parts. The Palladium is maybe 3 blocks away, so we are not in the burbs.

The housing is very hodge-podge and very aged, with small sfh’s, small apartments and some larger apartment complexes; very transitional. What really needs to happen is for much of it to go and be replaced by towers along Hollywood and Sunset (plus low-rise commercial) and low-to-mid-rises and parks in the area between. Urban renewal is always a bit of a shock, but it should in general happen in the most mixed or dilapidated neighborhoods, especially when they are adjacent to higher demand areas (central Hollywood, Los Feliz, Ktown).

The proposed building is 10 stories and I suspect there are several 3-5 story apartments in the area already. If some student housing, ala USC’s Gateway Project were to follow, so much the better. This is an urban area.

The aesthetics are, of course, a matter of opinion. The rest of the neighborhood has no style other than rundown eclectic and could certainly take Emerson as a clue.
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  #968  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2010, 11:30 PM
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agreed, its definitely bizarre. but if there's any neighborhood where ridiculous architecture can just sort of blend in, i guess it'd be hollywood. sunset should for the most part be pretty much fair game for this sort of stuff.
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  #969  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2010, 11:33 PM
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There's something about this building that I don't like. But I can't figure out what it is. Wish I could elaborate further.
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  #970  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2010, 11:34 PM
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Does Los Angeles have any zoning laws? I ask because LA reminds me of Houston and some of you may or may not know this but Houston is the largest city in the US without any zoning laws. Which is why it's third tallest building (Williams Tower at 904 feet) is located about 6 miles from downtown Houston.

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  #971  
Old Posted Mar 2, 2010, 12:59 AM
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LA definitely has zoning but I'll let the experts fill in on what it is in that neighborhood. But this is not that far out of line, seing as how it is on Sunset and high-rises are proposed for there and Hollywood Blvd.

Houston has been famous for no zoning for years. I rememeber maybe 30 or 40 years ago when I was a kid a picture of a high-rise in Houston with a single family home with an old man on a porch literally next door.

In all honesty, there is something I don't like about this building as well; but I do like the idea that it is proposed to be built and that it will hopefully wake up a neighborhood that should be an area of architectural interest.

Ditto for WeHo which is disappointing considering the artsy community there.
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  #972  
Old Posted Mar 2, 2010, 1:38 AM
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LA has had strict zoning for some decades now-- minimum parking requirements, setbacks, height limits, etc. The only area I know of in LA that doesn't have a short height limit on buildings is downtown and possibly Century City. I know that Westwood has had height limits on buildings since the early 1990s. I think the neighborhood where the Beverly Center is located also has height limits. And mixed-use wasn't allowed until the late 1990s or early 2000s.
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  #973  
Old Posted Mar 2, 2010, 6:17 PM
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The City has zoning maps available at their website. I would guess that Hollywood, Sunset, Vine, Gower are zoned (loosely speaking) some form of multi-story commercial with height limits and the streets between them and the freeway are multi-story residential. If not, they should be. The area north of Sunset is too much in the middle of potential entertainment, commercial and high-rise development to stay as sfh. Ten stories on the boulevards and 3-5 stories on the side streets is not off-base.

I believe Hollywood between Gower and Western has at least one 15-20 story residential building proposed. Columbia Sq. at Sunset and Gower was proposed for over 20, but I am sure will be cut back (assuming it happens at all).
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  #974  
Old Posted Mar 12, 2010, 9:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sopas ej View Post
LA has had strict zoning for some decades now-- minimum parking requirements, setbacks, height limits, etc.
Cities like San Francisco and Washington DC are starting to implement parking maximums for new development. Its frustrating to see LA coming out strong with transit oriented developments but then shoot itself in the foot by allowing...and mandating so much parking. As I type this I'm looking out my office window at the Solair, a condominium project sitting on top of the Wilshire/Western metro station. At its base is 6 stories of podium parking. Its extremely troubling that this is 'okay' to do in Los Angeles. Developers will always try to max out parking...its the cities job to limit that, not encourage it.

Last edited by DistrictDirt; Mar 12, 2010 at 9:58 PM. Reason: Spelling...argh.
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  #975  
Old Posted Mar 12, 2010, 10:42 PM
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Better than 1100 Wilshire's 15 (!) stories of parking. I've been up there before. It gets horrible after driving past the 9th floor.
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  #976  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2010, 12:41 AM
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I suppose one could argue that a city providing both mass transit and sufficient parking would be doing a good thing.
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  #977  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2010, 5:45 AM
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solair



i photographed a bunch of cool, 4-7 story infill projects on the side streets as well..just too lazy to upload

Last edited by Kingofthehill; Mar 16, 2010 at 6:07 AM.
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  #978  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2010, 2:40 PM
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Thanks for posting that, King. I bet those balconies provide for some pretty killer views.
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  #979  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2010, 3:56 PM
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I believe the Ma Dang development across the street from Solair is complete as well. Not sure if the retail there has opened for business yet though...
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  #980  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2010, 9:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by colemonkee View Post
Thanks for posting that, King. I bet those balconies provide for some pretty killer views.
The Views are ridiculously awesome. The pool deck is 30,000 square feet and the units are all well done. the HOA's on the other had are out of hand, starting at $904 a month for the smallest units.
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